Blackstone, Carlyle mull $25bn bid for Novartis generics arm

Two private equity giants are reportedly discussing launching a joint bid for the generics unit of pharma giant Novartis, according to reports.

Blackstone and Carlyle Group have discussed teaming up to launch a bid for the Sandoz generics arm of the Swiss drugmaker which could be valued at $25bn (£18.5bn), Bloomberg reported.

Sandoz generated $9.7 billion in sales last year and German news outlet Handelsblat reported in November that the arm was on sale for of $21.6 billion.